BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Fans during the NatWest T20 Blast Semi Final between Northamptonshire v Warwickshire at Edgbaston on August 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Warwickshire County Cricket Club has announced a new partnership with Snaptivity, a company specializing in fan engagement at stadiums. The deal comes on the heels of a test of the technology in 2016, during England’s day and night test match against the West Indies.
Snaptivity will use robo-cameras that are triggered automatically by artificial intelligence (AI) and sensors performing crowd analysis, within the club’s Edgbaston venue, to capture photos of fans throughout a game. By downloading the iOS or Android app, or login on the web, fans can be identified by the company and can view photos of themselves, which can also be shared on social media.
The infrastructure is initially set up to cover Edgbaston’s Eric Hollies Stand, with the potential to expand the service more widely across the rest of the stadium in future. The partnership sees Snaptivity support fans’ match day experience at both international fixtures and Birmingham Bears T20 games at Edgbaston and will support matches in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The County Cricket Club is one of the top 18 teams within the domestic sport in England and Wales and plays its games at Edgbaston. Two teams play at the venue, the Warwickshire Bears for 50 overs games and the Birmingham Bears for T20 games. The stadium can seat 25,000 spectators and is the U.K.’s fourth largest cricket arena.
Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director at Warwickshire CCC, said in a statement: “Through the initial trial, Snaptivity has played a part in taking our match day experience score for Birmingham Bears T20 matches to the highest levels yet. The firm has been a pleasure to work with throughout the initial trial period and we’re delighted to sign the extended deal.”
Amit Pate, Co-Founder & CEO of Snaptivity, said in a statement: “Edgbaston has a great tradition of staging some of the biggest cricket matches in the game and we’re thrilled to work with them on this innovation of enhancing match-day experience following the successful trials last season.”
